snow ball has an oversize bladder???? is this something that can hurt his quality of life??

Somebody pleeeeease help....ASAP

we got 2 bobtail kitties, 2 weeks ago, from same litter.  Trouble, the female is fine, fiesty, naughty, a perfect kitten....

Snowball, I have had her to the vet 3 times in the last few days. Once for severe diahrrea, then for severe constipation, and then again for what I was TOLD was constipation and if he didnt go poopies, bring him back.

He is approx 5-6 weeks old, the girl I got them from couldnt remember the exact date they were born. When we went to the vet yesterday (sunday) it was an emergency room visit basically, and the vet said he would give him an enema to see if that helps.  Poor snowball was soooooooo bloated, and his skin was almost a bluish color due to the blood vessels being pushed so hard against his skin.  He is all white, with absolutely no nub whatsoever, by the way.... The vet ended up giving my poor guy 3 enemas and then said "OH MY!!! he has a HUGE BLADDER"  apparently his bladder was so full, that was making his tummy so bloated....

Now, what I would like to know is, can he live with a good quality of life? He is so sweet, cuddly, loveable, etc.... the vet in this little back woods nebraska town said he has never seen this nor has he heard any of his collegues dealing with it.

He kept snowball over night to see if he could extract any more urine, and I am spose to decide what to do with him.  I refuse to put him to sleep unless it is completely necessary because he is in pain, or is suffering. He plays, eats, sleeps, fine!!

pleassssssse help anybody with ANY HELPFUL THOUGHTS, ADVICE, ANYTHING!! PLEASE

Welcome to the TCS!  I'm sorry your little one is having problems.  I'm wondering if the bladder was distended because of the constipation?  I'm no expert on this type of thing.  What did the vet's office say when you asked them?

the vet said his bladder was the size of a golf ball.  He did get him to go poopy with the enemas, and said he could push and extract the urine that way, but he is kinda really pushing him to get put to sleep.  I really want that to be a very very last last and last last alternative.  We just had to put our cat of 14 years to sleep, very unexplectantly on july 22nd, and these kitties were spose to help ease that pain.  My hubby was the most distraught over bubbles being fine in the morning and being rushed to the vet at 9pm that night, and 2 days later completely suffering and needed to be put to sleep.  Anyways.....

the vet here where i live, hes more of a "farmers vet" since I live in a town of approx 1500 people, and the whole bobtail thing is kind of a "freak thing" to them.

He said I could come and get snowball and see how it goes at home, but for me to realize its probably going to get worse and not ever better.

I asked him about the constipatation causing the enlarged bladder and he said he really didnt know.

I have searched and searched the internet to see if the rest of his body will catch up to his bladder, and what size his bladder is actually spose to be, but I am having no luck......

if there is anything you might be able to add, or know somebody that might have any ideas or answers, I would really appreciate it if they could help me get some info on this.  I want to make a responsible decision for this kitty, he is quite loving, playful, and fun, and this just started in the last few days????? UGH!!!

i DO NOT want him to suffer, but I dont want to put him to sleep  just cuz the vet doesnt really know what to say or think.....

I think you need to find a different vet, even if you have to drive to the next town.

funny thing about that, ALL the towns around me are all SMALL.... The closest actual CITY where there are vets that would know about bobtails is 211 miles to the west, or 300 miles to the east.... Ive tried to call a couple vets in the big cities, but nobody wants to voice their opinion over the phone without seeing the kitty first.

The vet did tell me his poor tummy is still bloated, but not as bad as it was when i brought him in yesterday.  What I am really having a hard time grasping is the fact, HE WAS FINE for the first week, week and a half when we first got them. Labor day evening actually is the exact day we got them...

i have them both on science diet kitty formula dry  food, but I put hot water in it and wait until it is all soft before feeding them.  I just got a little worried about the diarrhea and dehydration, and the fact it was just ooozing out all the time, with both of the kitties.  His sister, trouble, she is fine after giving her the medicine they gave me, and I am wondering if that medicine isnt what actually plugged snowball up??

He will go to the litter box, act like he is trying to go potty, and then just hops right back out, without doing anything...

I really want to believe the whole diarrhea, constipation, big bladder thing is just going to work itself out, because he does not ACT sick, he has plenty of "kitty" actions in him.  I do think though they were pulled from their mommy maybe a week or so to soon?? Im not sure.....

this is such a drag!! poor little guy, and he just cuddles in the nape of my neck, and just purrrrs his little heart out, and gives me kitty kisses, It  is about breaking my heart.

Ohhh!! They only get dry food?  They should be getting mostly wet food with supplemental dry food, especially if they are young and bobtails.  Also, with their age, you still may need to help stimulate them to poop after every feeding.  The momma cat usually does this during cleaning.  Just rub their little bottoms with a warm wash cloth.  Poor boy.  Definitely get them on about 4 or so wet food feedings a day.  I used to give my kittens Wellness Kitten canned.  You might also try Fancy Feast kitten.  He may not be able to handle strictly dry as it zaps a lot of water from the body causing hard stools and constipation.  You can even add in a bit of kitten milk to make the canned food the consistency of oatmeal or a slurry.

Ok, I have to ask this...is he really a Bobtail, or is he a Manx?  The Manx breed is known for having issues with their hind end, both bladder and bowel, so if he's a Manx, he might have Manx Syndrome.    If he is a true Bobtail, then let's hope giving him wet food will fix him right up, and maybe his bladder just seemed big because it was extended due to being full and being constipated.  I mean, wouldn't a big bladder just mean you can hold more before needing to pee?  I don't know why it would be an issue, as long as he is able to pee, but right now he is awfully young to have been taken away from his real cat mom, and maybe as Stephanie pointed out, he doesn't really now how to do all these things yet (like pee and poop without stimulation).

yes, that is the plan for tomorrow... I picked snowball up from the vet and have him here at home with me and his sister, he is all happy to see his sibling, and me.... He has been parked on my shoulder and snuggling in my neck, after he ate.  He was famished!!  But, he and trouble did roll around and wrestle around and chased the feather for a little bit together.  I am hoping this is just going to get better and better....

The vet said he got him all cleaned out with them enimas, and told me I might have to help him expel his urine, with a warm wash cloth on his bottom, and i will do that for as long as it takes, and I am hoping and crossing my fingers the vet in denver can give me a little more positive feedback, and answer my questions, without raising his shoulders up and down and saying "Ummmm.... I dont know, Ummmmmm I am not really sure" and of course "the best thing you can do is just put him down.

Well.... He is not in pain, not suffering, and is eating/drinking just fine, and is active, just because he is a little different looking than all the other cats he has seen, that does not mean he needs to be killed!!!  Different is a GREAT THING!!

Thank you for helping me, just talking to somebody helped!! We are in the middle of potatoe harvest here, so my hubby is only seen on sundays!! hahaha so just to let some things off my chest was wonderful.  I cant wait up until 130 200 am to talk to hubby!!

ill let you know what happens at the big city vet, and I am sure it is going to be BIG CITY COSTS too!!

well....  I guess I cant really answer that for sure.... The girl, trouble, his sister has one little vertabrae for a tail.  Snow ball has absolutely nothing.... no nub, not even an extra little patch of fur, and Ive just always called them bobtails.  They have the longer back legs, kind of look like a bunny when running, have a split on one of the paws, so it looks like they have five instead of the four.   we had a bobtail/manx ?? years ago, in 2003, and she had 2 little vertabrae for a nubby looking thing, but no tail.  Her dad was a tail less tall bob tail..... He was almost to my knees, and I have never seen another one as big as he was to this day.

I know I am going to sound just dumb as a bucket of nails, but WHAT is the difference between the two.  I have only learned about this manx syndrom in the last couple of days, as our previous bobtail had no problems with anything, whatsoever....

I have been giving him soft food for the last 4 days, and for the time before that, I gave him and trouble the science diet kitty food, the dry, but I softened it completely before giving it to them, but i spose it didnt have near the moisture contenet as the wet food in the little cans do.  They gave me a can of science diet food to bring home and feed him when I picked him up.  I had been giving him the fancy feast tuna and shrimp feast.  That was the ONLY one I could find that had no by products in it.

thank you for getting back to me.  I would greatly appreciate any and all other info you can give me

The manx is actually a spinal defect.  Responsiible breeders keep pretty good control of things by using purebreds that have tails in their breeding program.  Even responsible breeders sometimes will have a kitten that has manx syndrome.  I have read that even the manx that have short tails often develop problems in their tails, the vertibra  ossify and become very painful.  They often go ahead and dock their tails as kittens so they don't develop the problem.

Don't forget to get them on some wet food to help soften up the stools.  Sounds like you've got a plan and you've got us here to help you as well.  Keep us posted!